Kimono's Story
by Nychus
Summary: In one day, Kimono loses his brother and his herd.  Banished to wander alone, Kimono must learn to fend for himself and count on no one.  There are many surprises he encounters.  Will he be able to survive?  Will he ever find a new home?
1. Banished

A/N: I, obviously, do not on My Little Pony, or their characters. The made up characters, are all mine. And, obviously, there has been some gender swapping, but I don't think that's too weird as many have genderswapped.

**Chapter 1: Banished**

The quiet of the forest undergrowth was disturbed as a pony pushed his way through the brush. He was a handsome pony: his coat was the bright blue of the sky on a clear day and his mane and tail were the intense blue of a deep, clear lake. His green eyes twinkled, even in the muted light of the forest floor. He stood with an air of authority; he was strong and he was caring. He was the epitome of stallions.

As he stood, scanning the forest, looking for something only he knew, another pony stumbled out of the brush, tripping and landing face first beside the first pony, who grinned down at the second. This second pony was nothing like the first, he was scrawny and small, even for his age. When he stood up, dirt caked his ruffled light purple coat, while twigs stuck out in all directions from his deep purple mane. His eyes, though the same green color of the blue stallion's, did not twinkle, but they showed the same kindness.

Once the purple pony had disengaged his tail from the bush it got tangled in, the blue pony took off at a trot, dodging the trees and low hanging branches with ease.

"Holly," the purple pony cried, trying desperately to keep up with his companion, "Holly, please, slow down!"

"Ah, Kimmy," the first said, slowing down, "you can keep up, how often have we been this way? You should know this part of the forest by now."

"You know I hate it when you call me that," the purple pony said, catching up.

"If you can call me Holly, I should be able to call you Kimmy."

"Mom and Dad call you Holly, I don't see why I can't."

"Because you aren't Mom or Dad. You're Kimmy."

The purple pony snorted, "Fine, Holly_hock_, could you please slow down? I'm not as good as you are in the forest, you know that."

"Fine," Hollyhock said, turning and heading farther into the forest, "but you really need to learn how to navigate the forest better, Kimono. Ponies have to escape into the woods to avoid the predators, but we can still get picked off if we lose our way."

"I know," Kimono said, "but this stuff doesn't come easy to me like it does you."

"Well, then, just be sure you always stay next to me in the forest and you won't get lost," Hollyhock decided.

"That, I can handle."

Kimono followed Hollyhock as he made his way through the forest. They belonged to the herd that lived on Shimmering Meadows. Hollyhock was several years older than his younger brother, already full grown and of age. Kimono still had more than a century before he would be considered an adult among the herd. The two brothers loved each other dearly, something which astonished all the other members of the herd. Hollyhock, being such a spectacular specimen of a stallion wanting nothing more than to play with his runt of a brother? It didn't make sense, but that was how it was.

Hollyhock had always felt sorry for Kimono. He was born small and during a time when there were no other foals being born, so growing up he didn't have anyone to play with his own age. He also tended to be a klutz which caused great annoyance to the rest of the herd. Kimono was always getting yelled at for things he didn't mean to do and bullied by the other ponies Hollyhock's age. Even their parents grew annoyed with Kimono, leaving him nowhere to turn except for Hollyhock, who protected him with such ferocity the other ponies stopped picking on Kimono and just ignored him.

As they walked deeper into the woods, Kimono looked at his brother and asked, "Hollyhock, why have we spent so much time in the woods lately?"

"What do you mean?" Hollyhock asked back. "We always go into the woods."

"I know, but it's usually only once every few days, but we've been coming in everyday for several days now. Why?"

Hollyhock stopped, causing Kimono to walk into him and mutter sorry when he straightened back up. Kimono then just stared at Hollyhock.

"You've noticed that Iris is slowing down," Hollyhock said.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Iris is old and he'll be returning to the great sky soon."

"Haven't you heard the whispers of the herd? When Iris finally does lie down for the last time, they want me to take over as herd leader."

"What!?" Kimono cried. He always figured that Hollyhock would become herd leader eventually, but he was barely a summer past adulthood, leaders are usually much more experienced in the world before they take over.

"Exactly," Hollyhock sighed. "And it's not like I don't want to be herd leader, it's a great honor and I will accept the duty with graciousness and poise that a leader should. It's just…I'm not ready to take over the herd. I'm still young and inexperienced. And I'd much rather be running around with you without a care in the world."

"So, we've be coming out here because…" Kimono started.

"Because when Iris finally does return to the sky and I'm elected leader, I won't be able to do this with you. I will be much too busy maintaining the herd. So, I want to get in as much quality time with you as possible."

Hollyhock started walking again, but Kimono just sat there. He was happy for his brother, but he would lose his only playmate. But on the bright side, all the residual bullying would probably stop from the other stallions. Still, he would rather play with his brother.

But, Iris was still herd leader, and though he has slowed, there is nothing to indicate that he will die anytime soon, so these thoughts may be for naught.

"KIMONO!"

Kimono was shaken from his thoughts by Hollyhock's cries. He looked up where Hollyhock had gone and saw him in the distance waving at him, indicating he should catch up.

"Come here! Look at what I found!"

No sooner had Kimono stood up to go to his brother, did Hollyhock's back right leg slip. That leg fell, quickly followed by the next, and as the rest of Hollyhock's body followed, Kimono was wide-eyed as he watched his brother's head slam into the rock and he heard the crack of the skull before it too slid out of sight.

Kimono bolted, running as fast as he could to where he had last seen Hollyhock, barely slowing to a halt in time to not go over the cliff his brother had just fallen from. The cliff wasn't high, but below it was full of briars that were slowly devouring Hollyhock's body. Kimono could only watch in shock as the last of Hollyhock's tail sank into the dark green depths of the briars.

"HOLLYHOCK!" Kimono finally cried. "HOLLYHOCK! HOLLY!"

Tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he stood there, screaming for his brother. He screamed until he couldn't scream anymore before he realized that there was no chance of Hollyhock coming back out of the briars. The forest was beginning to darken when Kimono finally left the rock and ran back to the herd. The forest seemed to be showing him the way back because he had no problems returning to Shimmering Meadows.

As he ran up to the rest of the herd, they were quick to spot that he was alone.

"Where's Hollyhock?" they demanded as an exhausted Kimono collapsed at their feet.

"Look at his feet!" one of the stallions Hollyhock's age cried. "They're caked in blood!" Kimono hadn't realized that when Hollyhock's head hit the rock, it split open and left a trail of blood down the rock, right where Kimono had stood for so long.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Kimono's father shook him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Tears still streaming, Kimono cried, "Hollyhock was standing on a rock, and he slipped and fell. I ran to help him, but it was too late. He fell into some briars and disappeared. He's gone!"

Kimono curled into a ball and cried as the herd reacted. They cried and consoled the parents. It was some time before anyone paid attention to Kimono again, but Kimono wished they hadn't when they realized he was still there.

"You!" Kimono's mother cried. "You had to go into the woods! If you weren't so spineless and weak, Hollyhock wouldn't have had to look after you!"

"You should have been the one who died!" a stallion cried.

"You should never have been born!" a mare screamed at him.

"You, you killed Hollyhock!" his father cried.

"No…" Kimono whispered, frightened for his life, but too scared to move.

"Leave."

All the ponies in the herd turned at this new voice, which was old and weak. Iris had made his way over to Kimono after hearing the news. The other ponies backed away for Iris to come to the quivering little pony with tear-stained cheeks and the blood of the only pony who ever cared for him on his hooves.

"Leave this herd. You are not welcome here," Iris said.

"But…" Kimono knew he could never survive alone. Ponies weren't meant to live alone; they had no protection against the evil things in the world without their herd.

"You heard Iris!" came a cry from several stallions who would jump at any chance they could to attack Kimono.

Kimono continued to lay there, not having any control over his limbs. The stallions charged at him, kicking him hard in the side and head. Finally, Kimono was able to move, he rolled over and stumbled to his feet. The stallions chased him off the meadow, biting and kicking at him as they ran.

When Kimono was safely back in the woods, they yelled after him "If you ever show your face on this meadow again, we will kill you!"

And those were the last words Kimono heard from his herd as he ran deeper into the dark forest that called his brother back to the great sky.


	2. The Elf

**Chapter 2: The Elf**

The quiet forest was disturbed as a pony stepped through the underbrush. Kimono was now fully grown and no longer walked through the forest tripping and stumbling with every step. He had spent everyday for the past 208 years wandering alone in the woods, remembering that faithful day every night as he bedded down.

He hadn't seen another pony since that day, and not found any being to converse with either. He always celebrated his brother's birthday as well as his own, for he had nothing better to do with his time than count the days. He often found himself thinking that death would be better than this lonely existence, and often wished for it to come, but it never did.

As he made is way through the forest, he tried not to backtrack on himself, just in case he should accidentally wander back to Shimmering Meadows. He never left the forest, avoiding open areas at all costs. He was also wary of any cliffs and stayed away from them if he could help it all.

He continued walking his lonely path, not paying attention to where he was going, but having enough sense of mind to avoid any trees. But, because he wasn't paying attention, he didn't see the vine that was attempting to wind its way from a smaller tree to a bigger tree, causing him to trip, and roll head over tail down a small hill that landed him in a clearing covered with dandelions. When he hit the bottom, the tiny seeds took to the air, causing Kimono to have a sneezing fit.

When the last sneeze exited his body, he twitched his nose a few times to be sure that was it. When he stopped twitching, he noticed someone walking towards him.

An elf. She was tall and slender with a long shimmering dress that seemed to be made from the same tiny fabric that made up the wings of dragonflies. Her long golden hair and dress billowed as if wind was blowing them, but there was no wind to speak of in the clearing.

"Hello," she greeted Kimono, her voice having a certain chime to it. "What brings a young pony to my clearing? Where is your herd?"

It took Kimono a while to find his voice, for not only had the elf taken him by surprise (elves were often thought to be things of legend to the ponies for they were rarely seen), but he hadn't had anyone to talk to in so long, he almost forgot how to speak.

"I…I…I…" Kimono stuttered, but found his voice when the elf smiled at him. "I haven't been a part of a herd in a long time."

"What?" she gasped. "But ponies need the herd, don't they?"

"Yes," Kimono sighed, "but I was kicked out."

"Why?" she asked, kneeling down and putting her hand on his back.

Kimono told her the story, how they herd had blamed him for Hollyhock's death and kicked him out, how even his own parents hated him, how everyone, including himself, wished that he would have been the one to die and not Hollyhock.

"You wish you were dead?" the elf asked him.

"Yes," he whispered, bowing his head.

"Then why haven't you? Why keep living if you truly wish to die?"

Kimono stared at the naked dandelions as he answered, "Because I'm afraid of death. I'm more afraid to die than I am to live, even though I want nothing more than death to come and end my pathetic existence."

Tears welled in his eyes and the elf stroked his back. She then stood and took his face in her soft, fragile hands and held it up so that he was looking into her own fair face.

"By being afraid to die, you are afraid to live. You can not die until you have lived," she told him. "Now, sleep. You have had a long day, and a rest in my clearing will do you a world of good. Tomorrow things will be better."

She kissed the top of his head, and Kimono laid his head down on the soft blanket of grass that grew beneath the dandelions and slept.

The next morning, Kimono woke up with a yawn. He looked around at his surroundings, wondering if it had all been a dream. But he was still in the clearing, with the naked dandelions all around him. However, the elf was no where in sight.

He sat there for a while, looking around for any movement that could be the elf's, but none ever came, and Kimono had to get moving and looking for a stream to quench his thirst.

Once fed and water, he continued his aimless wandering in the forest.


End file.
